The present invention relates to data storage systems, and more particularly, this invention relates to detecting defects on magnetic tape media.
In magnetic storage systems, magnetic transducers read data from and write data onto magnetic recording media. Data is written on the magnetic recording media by moving a magnetic recording transducer to a position over the media where the data is to be stored. The magnetic recording transducer then generates a magnetic field, which encodes the data into the magnetic media. Data is read from the media by similarly positioning the magnetic read transducer and then sensing the magnetic field of the magnetic media. Read and write operations may be independently synchronized with the movement of the media to ensure that the data can be read from and written to the desired location on the media.
An important and continuing goal in the data storage industry is that of increasing the density of data stored on a medium. For tape storage systems, that goal has led to increasing the track and linear bit density on recording tape, and decreasing the thickness of the magnetic tape medium. However, the development of small footprint, higher performance tape drive systems has created various problems in the design of a tape head assembly for use in such systems.
In a tape drive system, the drive moves the magnetic tape over the surface of the tape head at high speed. Usually the tape head is designed to minimize the spacing between the head and the tape. The spacing between the magnetic head and the magnetic tape is crucial; therefore, such systems attempt to position the recording gaps of the transducers, which are the source of the magnetic recording flux, in near contact with the tape to effect sharp written transitions, and to position the read elements in near contact with the tape to provide effective coupling of the magnetic field from the tape to the read elements.
Magnetic tape media sometimes has defects that protrude from the surface of the magnetic tape media. In tape recording, the media runs in contact with the transducers in the head, thus making the transducers susceptible to effects of media defects.